Journalist succumbs to COVID-19 in Hyderabad; Telangana CM KCR issues condolences

A journalist who tested positive for COVID-19 and was suffering from severe comorbidities died in Telangana on Sunday, in what is believed to be the first case of a journalist's death arising due to Coronavirus in the state.

'He suffered a cardiac arrest & couldn't be revived'

According to Doctor Raja Rao, Superintendent, Gandhi Hospital Hyderabad, the deceased was admitted to the hospital on June 4 after getting referred from Fever hospital due to testing positive for the infection. He was admitted immediately and treatment started. The patient developed breathlessness by afternoon on the same day of admission and was shifted to ICU.

"A team of doctors, including physicians, anaesthetists, pulmonologists, treated him round the clock. But today morning, he suffered a cardiac arrest and could not be revived and declared dead at 9:37 am," the Superintendent Gandhi Hospital was quoted as saying by ANI.

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The journalist had bilateral pneumonia with Type-1 respiratory failure and Acute Respiratory Disease Syndrome (ARDS) when he was admitted, doctors at the hospital said. He was also suffering from Myasthenia Gravis, a long-term neuromuscular disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness, they said.

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Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao conveyed condolences on the demise.  Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy also condoled the death of the scribe. 

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Telangana continued to report a surge in COVID-19 infections with 154 cases being reported on Sunday, taking the tally to 3,650 even as 14 people died due to the virus, taking the total fatalities to 137.

Out of the 154 new cases, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area alone accounted for 132, while the remaining were reported from different parts of Telangana, a health department bulletin said.  The number of people under treatment in the hospitals stood at 1,771, the bulletin said.

India's total Covid cases have risen to 256,611 on Monday morning, of which 125,381 are active. 7,135 people have died thus far while 124,095 have recovered. As per a mathematical model-based research by Health Ministry officials, Covid may be eliminated from India by mid-September if certain parameters hold. 

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(With agency inputs) (Photo Credit: ANI)